In The Blood
by Andie14
Summary: A newly discovered Stargate brings SG1 into contact with an ancient and advanced civilisation who claim no knowledge of the Gou'ald, but what is the terrible secret they are keeping and why is the sole connection to the past the very thing that could ensure an old adversary has a future.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

The morning was warm and a haze shrouded the landscape. Commander Adisa Thoril looked back from her vantage point behind the trees near the giant stone circle wishing she could return to the cool artificial air within the city. She had been suspicious of the visitors from Earth and had specifically requested this mission today. She doubted that they would return as promised, having seen that the military and technological might of the planet far exceeded what they had expected, but she was equally sure if they did it would be for no other purpose than to demand it at the point of a weapon. Years of isolationist behaviour had bred in them a distrust of anybody from the outside. The one who called himself Jackson had stirred her curiosity perhaps more than the others. His interests did not seem to be as clear as his companions. They claimed to be explorers and yet he had called himself an archaeologist, with an interest in their history, as though he were looking for a connection, something that would bind her people to his; a connection she was certain could not exist. A ruse perhaps, but he had been granted access to the archives. She had objected but had been assured that the curator would be cautious.

As the stone ring activated she signalled her patrol to fan out. Several long seconds passed before the first of the off-world visitors appeared. She recognised Samantha Carter, and two of the three men with her. The fourth had not accompanied the group on their last visit. She waited, out of sight until the shimmering circle dissipated and she was sure that there were no more off-worlders; no invasion force. She holstered her weapon, pulled off her helmet and stepped out of cover. Carter stared blankly for a moment until Adisa remembered that she was still cloaked. Quickly pressing the button on the wrist of the body armour she wore, she apologised.

"Don't worry," Sam smiled warmly.

"Who is this?" Adisa demanded, indicating the stranger in their midst.

"This is Major Davis," Carter introduced quickly, glancing down to see that Adisa's grip had tightened around her weapon. "He is with Stargate Command and works with us. He helps to facilitate off-world negotiations."

Adisa raised her hand, signalling to her guards to lower their weapons and Carter visibly relaxed.

"Major Davis, this is Commander Adisa Thoril." Carter continued.

Davis stepped forward with a confidence he didn't feel. He was a good negotiator, a great facilitator but not the best inter-galactic traveller. It made him feel nauseous and edgy. He felt the female officer examining him, taking in every detail. An uneasy smile flickered on her lips for a moment when their eyes finally met.

"Welcome to Kvenla, Major…" she faltered.

"Davis," he said, his hand held out in greeting. Despite the severe manner in which her hair was pulled away from her face and the epicene uniform, he couldn't deny she was an attractive woman.

Her stomach flipped as they touched, and he wrapped his fingers firmly around hers. A confusing flurry of images flashed through her mind and she snatched her hand away, swallowing back the lump in her throat.

"If you would all follow me to the city, the Vinor is waiting for you," she said, turning sharply and marching ahead.

"Wait 'til ya see this!" Mitchell chuckled.

They walked through the trees to a clearing on the other side. Adisa removed a small hand devise and pressed a button. A wave of blue light flashed through the empty space before them and the city became instantly visible.

"Makes the central locking on your SUV look boring now, huh?" Mitchell nudged Davis who was still staring slack-jawed.

"This way," Adisa said, glancing over her shoulder directly at Davis before marching on at pace.

.

The room they were led to was not the same as on their first visit. This time it was a more formal setting. The room itself was circular, as was the stone table which sat in the exact centre on what appeared to be a hand woven carpet with a large golden symbol beneath each seat. Windows ran from floor to ceiling giving a view of the city beyond. The walls were a dark purple colour and made the cool room feel warmer. Vinor Erlend stood as Adisa entered the conference room ahead of SG1. She bowed to him before approaching. He had already spotted the stranger in their midst and the look he exchanged with his commander was not subtle. She whispered something to him before announcing the guests.

"Vinor, allow me to present Major Davis. He has been sent to negotiate on behalf of Earth," she said. The Vinor turned towards Davis, examining him before finally deciding he was acceptable.

"Welcome to Kvenla, Major Davis. I am Vinor Erlend Thoril. The people call me Vinor Erlend and you may do the same. Will your companions also be staying for our talks?"

Davis cleared his throat. "Colonel Carter and Colonel Mitchell will. Doctor Jackson, I understand, has arranged to meet with one of your historians."

"Yes. Laren said he would take me through some old documents to help me better understand your civilisation," Jackson supported.

"Take Doctor Jackson to the repository," Erlend called to the guard on the door. "I hope that you do not mind but I have asked Commander Thoril to remain. She will be your liaison. Commander Selanus is my personal guard and is with me wherever I go. I hope you understand. We have been too much alone, possibly." Vinor Erlend chuckled to himself before indicating that they were all seated. "I imagine that we sent you away after your last visit with the impression that we are a cold and inhospitable people."

Carter started a half-hearted objection but the Vinor held up his hand. "We wish to hold a banquet in your honour this evening. I appreciate that it is unexpected but as our days are shorter than yours it should not delay your return by too much."

Major Davis glanced at Adisa, suddenly aware that her attention was fixed on him. "We would be delighted," he replied.

"Good," Vinor Erlend said, slapping his hands down onto the surface of the desk. "I hope that we will all become good friends."

.

Daniel Jackson sat in the repository reading through dusty old manuscripts that he been retrieved and presented to him. Unlike the other places in the city that he had seen, the repository was exactly as he would have imagined. Dark and gloomy. Slightly dusty, which did nothing for his allergies, warmer than the main city areas he had passed through on his way here. Laren never left him alone; not even when Jackson had asked for more documents. Laren has sent a subordinate scurrying through the maze of shelves, but even so, Jackson had the distinct impression that Laren was holding something back. Numerous times he had asked if he could have a look around but had been very politely told that anything he requested would be brought for him. He'd given up.

The language in the older documents was vaguely familiar to him but not clear enough that he could translate. Carefully he copied down passages from the old scrolls into his notebook whilst Laren looked on, his brow furrowed.

He had been sat for around an hour when there was a sudden exchange between Laren and the younger man Jackson had come to see as the runner. Laren's voice was raised and the younger man appeared chastised, staring at the ground and nodding. Laren fell silent and the young man disappeared into the depths of the repository. Laren glanced furtively about before slowly approaching and slipping a piece of paper into Daniels notebook. Jackson spun in his chair and opened his mouth to speak but Laren shook his head and raised a finger to his lips before resuming his position as overseer. Daniel removed the paper under cover of his palm and placed it carefully into his pocket before returning his attentions to the parchment he had open on the table.

Seconds later the runner appeared again, with armfuls of dusty old papers and lay them carefully on the desk.

"You may leave," Laren said to him. The man hesitated for just a moment, then bowed and did as he was asked. "Doctor Jackson, the Vinor asked that I make available to you facilities in which to refresh yourself before the banquet. When you are ready, I will show you the way."

"Laren, what is this?" Jackson asked, retrieving the paper from his pocket. Laren looked around quickly, his brow furrowed.

"Not here. I will find a way," Laren whispered, stepping away. Jackson stuffed it back in his pocket with a resigned sigh and continued his work.

.

* * *

Vinor Erlend warmly greeted SG1 as they entered the banqueting hall. It had been carefully decorated with embroidered banners and coloured swags. There was something about the symbols and decorated drapery that, again, pulled at a memory buried deep in Jackson's mind and it was frustrating him more and more.

"Doctor Jackson, have you had a productive day?" Vinor Erlend asked, noticing the pensive expression on the face of his guest.

"What? Oh, yes, Thank you. You can call me Daniel. Laren was very helpful and very accommodating." Jackson replied.

"Your companions are to return to continue our talks. Will you be joining them? Laren is very proud of the repository. It has been his lifes work."

"I would like to. I suspect that there's still a lot I can learn about your people and this planet."

"Then we shall look forward to seeing you. I notice that Major Davis is not with you?"

"He'll be along soon," Mitchell replied. "I think he was just taking in some of the sights. We've been locked away all day and he's not great with confinement."

"As you say. Well, you must eat and drink." Vinor Erlend said, pointing at the table heavily laden with local delicacies and wine at the far end of the room. He waited until they were out of earshot before calling to his guard.

"Where is my daughter?" he demanded.

"Vinor, I believe she is…"

"I am here, father," Adisa replied. The Vinor dismissed the guard with little more than a wave of his hand.

"Adisa, where have you been? You should have been here to greet our guests," he reprimanded.

"I am sorry to be late, father," she replied irritably.

"Major Davis seems to have taken himself on a tour of our city. I should like you to locate him and…bring him back to the correct path immediately."

"He can do no harm, father. We have a beautiful planet. Why should he not wish to explore it? What harm can he possibly do?"

"Do not argue with me, child."

"Why not send one of the guards if you are so concerned?" Adisa retorted.

"Because if I send guards he may grow suspicious. He may think we are keeping secrets, hiding things from him."

"Father, what could he possibly…"

"I gave you an order…as your leader," Erlend said in a low growl through a fixed smile.

"Immediately, Vinor," Adisa spat petulantly before bowing and heading from the hall.

.

Major Davis walked slowly along the path and away from the city, his eyes fixed on the night sky. Adisa had no difficulty locating him in the light of the twin moons. She tried to call out but her throat constricted and mouth had gone dry. She couldn't understand why she was finding his presence so difficult. She didn't know him but she recognised in herself that she needed to. She stood still, filled with a sudden trepidation and watched as he meandered towards the trees. She could not recall ever having been unsure of herself, but this man drove in her an insecurity that was bewildering.

"Major Davis," she called out in a strangled whisper as she approached him.

Startled, he spun around and simply started at her for a moment, eyes wide and eyebrows raised. "Commander Thoril?"

She nodded. "My name is Adisa,"

"Paul," he mumbled, holding her gaze. Flustered, Adisa turned her attention to the night sky but he could not take his eyes from her. Her dark hair was loose and fell softly to shoulders that looked so pale against the fitted black leather bodice of the gown she wore. Red-gold flecks in the gentle curls shone in the moonlight. Her eyes were green; a vivid green that could not have been possible in any person from Earth without the help of coloured contact lenses. The transformation from soldier could not have been more dramatic and it took his breath away.

"I often wish that I could walk among the stars…as you do I think," Adisa said, turning to face him again.

"Not me, not often anyway. I leave that to Colonel Mitchell and the others," Davis replied. "You have a Stargate though. Have you never used it?"

She shook her head. "It was buried until the landslide uncovered it, but I very much doubt that my father will allow us to use it," she sighed.

"Why?"

"As he said, we have been a long time alone here. He is an old man now and I think that he is too afraid to allow it. Perhaps one day…in the future."

"Is that why he asked you to stay during the negotiations? He's expecting you to take over from him someday?"

"I requested he allowed me to remain," she said, then frowned before continuing. "And the Vinor is elected. It is not passed from father to son...or daughter."

"Why?"

"It is not appropriate to assume the bloodline will always produce another who is strong enough to lead the people."

"I'm sorry, I meant why did you choose to stay?"

"I don't know. I just...felt that I needed to be there." Adisa was silent for a moment, her attention returning to the sky. "I would like…" she began again, the stopped abruptly and looked back over her shoulder towards the city. "I have kept you too long from your friends already. Please forgive me."

"Don't apologise. It's all very well to visit new places but it's good to talk about something other than business."

"Yes, I'm sure." She held his gaze for just a second too long before tearing her eyes away as she felt the crimson heat creep up her chest and neck.

"You have a beautiful planet…well…from the little I've seen," Davis smiled.

"The view of the moons from the mountains is stunning. It is a hard climb but well worth it. Legend has it that it was where many of our ancient religious ceremonies took place. If you saw it…" She stopped suddenly "However, I was sent to return you to the banquet."

"Are you okay?" Davis asked.

"Fine," she replied flatly.

"No…you're not." He lunged forward and took her hand. She stared down at his fingers, wrapped authoritatively but gently around hers and his touch felt like a static charge through her body and she grimaced as a pain shot through her temple.

He released her hand and apologised, wondering why the hell he'd done it in the first place.

"Really, it's nothing. We should return." Behind her icy stare, he could sense apprehension, fear even. He could hear her breathing; quick and shallow. They set off walking in silence, Adisa's mind racing. She swallowed hard and cleared her throat before speaking again. "I understand that you are expected to resume talks tomorrow."

"That's right," Davis replied.

She stopped. "Major Davis…my father may not be the most welcoming man but he is not stupid and if you are able to make him a reasonable offer I believe that he will be willing to share some of our research and technology with you."

"Will we see you tomorrow?"

"I'm afraid not. I will be on training with my unit."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Perhaps, if the negotiations go well, you may visit us again one day." She smiled at him with all the warmth of an avalanche and picked up her pace.

.

* * *

Erlend insisted that Adisa accompany him to the Stargate to bid their new friends farewell for the evening.

"We would have been glad to offer you accommodation overnight," Erlend said as Jackson dialled Earth on the DHD.

"We've taken up enough of your time for one day," Mitchell replied as he watched Adisa determinedly avoid making eye contact with Davis, even as they shook hands.

"I shall ensure that you are met here tomorrow by one of my men," Erlend said, directing his comment to Carter.

"Until tomorrow," Carter smiled and led the way through the gate. Erlend and the small armed detachment that had accompanied him started back to the city. Adisa hesitated a moment. Davis glanced over his shoulder, briefly catching Adisa's eye before disappearing into the wormhole.

.

Landry was waiting in the briefing room when the team returned, watching from the window overlooking the gate room. They still found the transition from night to day strange. Walter's voice came over the tannoy requesting that they went for immediate de-briefing. As Carter and Jackson headed off, Mitchell held back for a moment.

"Davis," he called quietly

"Sir?" Davis replied.

"Look, off the record – what's going on with the Vinor's daughter?"

A frown crinkled Davis' brow. "I don't know what you mean, Colonel."

"I saw the way she was trying not to look at you. Is there something you want to tell me? What happened when she followed you?" Mitchell asked confidentially.

"Nothing," Davis snapped.

"I'm talking to you as a friend. Let's face it, she's easy on the eye, right?"

Davis immediately recalled the moment he had laid eyes on her as they emerged from the Stargate on Kvenla, the connection that had taken him by surprise when they touched. "There was nothing like that, Colonel Mitchell," he said, turning and heading out of the gate room.

Mitchell rolled his eyes and sighed, following him up the stairs towards the briefing room.

Landry sat forward in his chair, leaning on the table and waiting, not terribly patiently, for Davis and Mitchell. They each took their seat to the sound of Landry's deliberately loud exhalation.

"Sorry sir," Davis said as he opened the file he had brought with him.

"So, what happened?" Landry said. Davis passed his notes up the table to the General who quickly scanned the contents. "Doesn't seem to be anything much agreed?"

"No sir. They were very reluctant. Vinor Erlend wanted to know about our civilisation and our weapons capability before they would even consider speaking about themselves. I believe that they are concerned that we will attempt to force them to hand over their technology under threat of war. What they did tell us was very scant. They clearly are more advanced than we are from a medical and scientific perspective. They seem to live long lives and remain perfectly healthy. Vinor Erlend claims to be 170 years old. I would suggest taking a medical expert but…" Davis began.

"They wouldn't agree to that," Jackson interjected

"And why not, Doctor Jackson?" Landry asked.

"Because they're distrustful of strangers. I think Commander Thoril was ready to have Major Davis shot on sight, except for Carter's intervention," Jackson began.

Mitchell glanced over at Davis who quickly looked away.

"If we start turning up with more outsiders they may not react too kindly and it could jeopardise the entire mission," Jackson replied.

"Explain," Landry pressed.

"They allowed me access to their repository but I was watched every second I was there. They don't want us to be wandering around alone. Erlend thought we couldn't hear him but he was very keen that Major Davis wasn't allowed to wander around on his own. They may think that we are trying to obtain their knowledge covertly. Erlend offered a tour of the city and the planet. In a more relaxed situation we may be able to tentatively introduce the idea of specialists. "

Landry took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "That sounds reasonable."

"I still say there's something strange going on there though," Mitchell muttered. "I don't know what but…"

"They're just wary," Carter replied.

"They claim never to have heard of the Goa'uld. Don't you think that's a little peculiar?" Mitchell persisted.

"The Stargate was buried, perhaps for centuries. It's not impossible to imagine that the Goa'uld never reached them," Carter suggested.

"There's naquadah in the mountains and they were mining it until around century ago. I can't see the Goa'uld missing an opportunity like that."

"I guess." But Mitchell was unconvinced. "I don't suppose you…you know…sensed anything in them?"

"Are they Goa'uld, you mean? No," Carter replied.

"Laren gave me this," Jackson said, holding aloft the slip of paper his host had been so determined to give to him. "He was very concerned that nobody saw him pass it to me so it must contain something that the Kvenla people would rather we didn't know…or didn't find."

Carter stared at him, eyebrows raised quizzically, waiting for him to elaborate.

"I don't know what it says…or is even. This part looks like some kind of map. The etymology seems to be old Norse but the differences, whilst subtle in configuration, must change the entire language or this makes absolutely no sense."

"Keep working on it Doctor Jackson and see if you can get this Laren to give you more information. In the meantime, I suggest you all get some rest. Embarkation is set for zero four hundred hours to account for the time difference. I understand that you should arrive just in time for lunch." Landry smiled and, placing his hands on the table, he pushed himself up out of the chair. "Dismissed."

Mitchell held back as the others drifted away from the room. Landry watched him, sitting with his finger against his lips, pensively.

"Did you want something, Colonel Mitchell?" Landry asked.

"Hm?" Mitchell mumbled, suddenly aware that he was sat alone. "No, sir…well…it's just that…Would Doctor Lam have any way of…could she tell if someone had been…you know…altered...mentally?"

Relieved that the Colonel had finally got to the end of his sentence, Landry exhaled loudly and shook his head.

"Who are we talking about, Colonel?"

"Davis, sir,"

"Major Davis? He seemed fine."

"It was just that there was this woman on Kvenla, the Vinor's daughter. They spent some time together, alone. When we left, they wouldn't even look at each other but he is really touchy about it."

Landry started to chuckle. "You don't suppose that our Major Davis has been involved in negotiations of his own with this young woman, do you?"

"They weren't gone long enough for that!" Mitchell seemed horrified at the suggestion.

Landry rolled his eyes. "I just meant that perhaps he's a little…taken with her. He knows the rules. He's not about to admit it to a senior officer, is he? But nor is he going to jeopardize his career."

"I guess not."

"Don't give him a hard time, Colonel. This will all be over soon enough, and he'll be back in Washington and will have forgotten all about her." He patted Mitchell's shoulder. "Perhaps you should get out more."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

.

Mitchell, Carter and Davis took their seats at the circular granite table. Aside from the guards stationed on the doors, they were the only occupants. Mitchell drummed his fingers rhythmically as Carter intermittently sighed and examined her nails. Davis stared straight ahead through the window and out towards the mountains in the distance.

"Forgive me, please. I was called away on urgent business." Vinor Erlend bustled into the room sounding quite out of breath.

"If this is a bad time, Vinor, we can always postpone," Carter offered.

"No, I'm sure…no…everything shall be well."

"Is it anything we can help you with as we're here?" Mitchell volunteered.

"I'm afraid not. One of our detachments has gone missing in the mountains. They were on night operational training and they have missed two check points."

Davis felt his stomach lurch.

"I have my best men out searching for them. I have no doubt there will be…" He stopped and looked at the glasses of water on the table. The liquid was trembling.

"Vinor?" Carter called to him.

"It is an earthquake," Erlend said, still focusing on the glasses. The trembling became stronger until the fittings in the room began to sway and judder. "Quickly, to the bunker."

They jumped to their feet and rushed after Erlend, through a door and down a set of steps. They were pleased to find Daniel waiting for them but the news he has was less welcome.

"I was at the gate when the tremor started. It's caused a landslide and the DHD was covered. If we want to get home again, we're going to have to dig it out and that's assuming it's not damaged."

"Carter?" Mitchell said.

"I don't know. Until I can get to it…I don't know," she shrugged.

.

Adisa Thoril pulled off her helmet and wiped her forehead. She had been dispatched with the search and rescue team. They had recovered the missing detachment but Adisa remained frustrated with herself. The task had not had her full attention and the commander of the unit that had accompanied hers had made it clear that he had noticed. She peeled off the remainder of the armoured suit and stepped into the shower, the cool water washing away the sweat and grim of the last eleven hours. As she stepped out of the bathroom, rubbing at her wet hair with a towel, the comm unit jingled familiar tones. She answered audio only, not wanting to give anyone the shock of seeing her dishevelled and dressed in her robe.

"Accept," she called to the screen.

"Adisa, this is Vinor Erlend," the voice said. Adisa rolled her eyes wishing he could remember that he was her father occasionally.

"Yes, father?"

"Why have you not accepted visual?" The question had an accusatory tone that she did not like.

"I have just left the shower to answer this call. Do you really require visual, father?" she said irritably. There was only silence from the other end. She mumbled under her breath and accepted the visual link.

"The earthquake brought down the side of the hill and it has buried the devise that allows them to dial their address in the Fornfara. Colonel Carter is on her way to you. You will provide her with accommodation and assist her in the repairs where necessary. Co-ordinate with the second division. They have the best logistical experience," he commanded.

Adisa's stomach lurched. "Are the remainder of our friends safely back on Earth?" She faltered as she spoke.

"They are not. I have made arrangements for Doctor Jackson, Colonel Mitchell and Major Davis. You will join us for dinner. That is all." The screen went blank and only moments later Carter was at her door.

"Come through," Adisa smiled.

"I'm so sorry. I don't want to be any bother," Carter said as she set her MOLLE backpack down on the bed in the room Adisa had led her to.

"It really is no inconvenience. It's a pleasure to have the opportunity to learn about other societies and people and to speak with such a skilled scientist," Adisa smiled. "I shall leave you to settle in. I don't know if you might need something to wear. I can arrange to have your uniform cleaned. Come, I think we are about the same size."

.

Adisa entered her father's home with Carter and led her immediately to a large reception room in which the gentlemen were already gathered. Davis' looked at Adisa, drinking in every detail. Her hair was piled on top of her head in haphazard way which allowed curling strands to fall loosely to her shoulders. Although not as elaborately dressed as she had been for the banquet, the claret dress she wore was no less stunning. As her eyes met his he struggled to tear his gaze away. Adisa flushed and lowered her eyes, pushing a strand of hair from her face.

"Can I offer you a drink," Erlend said with a warm smile that even Adisa believed was genuine. Once satisfied that his guests each had a glass of wine he led the way to the small round table. It was beautifully decorated with fresh flowers and Adisa recognised the runner on the table as one she had embroidered when she was young and had given to him as a gift. He had seemed unimpressed at the time but she was gratified to see it taking pride of place today.

"I am glad to see that you're safe." The voice startled her.

"Safe?" she questioned.

"I understand that you were part of the search party when the earthquake hit."

"We were on our way back by then. Had we been in the mountains…well, it is irrelevant." She felt an involuntary shudder as she thought about what could have happened then quickly pushed it from her mind. They stood for a moment, neither knowing what to say, both feeling deeply uncomfortable.

"Well…I just wanted to say…I'm glad you're okay." He moved to walk away but Adisa reached out and gently touched his arm.

"I should apologise," she stammered. "I was rude to you yesterday and I have no valid excuse for it."

"Apology accepted," he smiled.

Immediately they took their seats, Erlend began to discuss the medical equipment with Carter, Mitchell listening intently for any signs of deception and Jackson still thinking about the note he had spent the day surreptitiously attempting to translate.

"You look…beautiful…by the way," Davis whispered.

Adisa stared at him blankly for a moment. She could not remember the last time she had received a compliment that did not involve her work. "Thank you," she managed eventually, staring down into the drink she had placed on the table. "It is rare that I have the chance to feel feminine. Well, you've seen the uniform," she smiled as she looked up and was met by the penetrating blue of his eyes. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I…" She took a deep breath. "I am sorry that you are trapped here. My father has asked that I co-ordinate the effort to return you to your world. I am completely at your disposal to assist with the recovery and repair of the device you need to return home. You must ask if there is anything at all you need. I will have men available at dawn to help with the digging."

"We appreciate that."

Adisa sipped her wine slowly, trying to stop her hand from shaking. "May I ask you a question?"

"Of course, anything," Davis replied.

"What is Earth like?"

Davis' brow furrowed. "I don't know really. I suppose that I take it for granted. We have some amazing countryside and the mountain. I love to go up to the mountains in the winter in the snow." Davis answered thoughtfully.

"Snow?"

"You don't get…it's very cold and white and…" he began but Adisa shook her head.

"It is never cold here. Not even inside the dome. I would love to feel cold," she laughed. "Is it a peaceful place to live?"

Davis took a breath before replying. He had never thought of his planet in those terms before but now asked, he had no choice but to confess that it was not. Even before the Goa'uld, the replicators and the Ori, Earth had made trouble enough for itself. Finally, he shook his head. "Not like here,"

"It has not always been this way…but we should not think of sad things. This is a celebration of our alliance and, I hope, our friendship," she smiled.

"If ever you have the chance to come to Earth I'd love to take you to the mountains, show you the snow and the lakes. The Grand Canyon is something to see."

"I think…I would like that very much indeed. Perhaps I can persuade my father that an exchange visit is in order." Adisa looked over at her father who was still deep in conversation with Samantha and seemed not to have noticed his exclusion of Davis. "You enjoy being outside I think? Without walls to keep you from nature but I suspect that your work keeps you confined."

"You're right. My work doesn't allow me as much time as I'd like to hike and ski as I used to," he complained. "But then a nine to five job with 'normal' hours wouldn't have given me the chance to meet you…and your people," he added quickly.

"What is a 'nine to five' job?" Adisa frowned.

"I'm sorry. It's a job with set hours. Nine in the morning to five in the evening, Monday through Friday. Weekends off," he explained.

"I see…I think," she chuckled. "Will you be required to assist in the repairs to the…DHD?"

"Dial Home Device and no! I think that Sam will want me as far away from that job as possible," he chuckled.

"Then once we have removed the debris you will not be required. Would you allow me to show you something of my planet, by way of an apology for my behaviour? I know that my father has made arrangements but there are places that are not on the tour. I cannot give you snow but we do have mountains which have the most spectacular views and the ocean is not far from here. Places that are special to me," she explained, taking his hand in her enthusiasm.

"I'd love that," he replied as he gently ran his thumb over the tips of her fingers.

"Adisa," Erlend called to her. "Do not monopolise the attention of Major Davis. I am sure that he does not wish to hear all about your experiments."

Adisa withdrew her hand and clamped her lips together. Davis noticed the muscles of her jaw twitching in anger as she clenched her teeth.

"I am sorry Major. She is excellent in her field and passionate. She forgets, sometimes, that there is a little more to life and not everyone is as enthusiastic as she is."

"Please, don't apologise. I was fascinated," Davis defended.

"It is very kind of you to say," Erlend chuckled. "I understand that you generally do not travel from your Earth Major Davis. This must be very inconvenient for you. I am confident that we can have you on your way before too long."

"I'm glad of the opportunity. It's been very interesting," Davis replied.

"Hmm," Erlend muttered glancing from Davis to Adisa and back again. "I imagine it has but I am sure that there are more important things awaiting you at home. I was just telling your colleagues that I believe we have some medical equipment that you might find helpful."

"Do you plan to keep the gate active?" Davis asked. Adisa felt her body tense as she waited for him to answer.

"I will take it under advisement. A programme like your own in which we may spread out among the stars and meet other likeminded people could be most beneficial, but it is essential that we protect ourselves as well. We have been living peacefully here for many hundreds of years and I should like to keep it that way," Erlend smiled.

"We could certainly help you with that. Provide you with some addresses. Friends. Show you how the gate works," Sam suggested. Erlend nodded and smiled but something in his eyes made Sam wonder if the lesson was really necessary.

"Forgive me but you have a very well trained and highly skilled military for a planet that has been without threat for hundreds of years," Davis remarked.

Mitchell looked over to Carter to see if she had also observed the subtle change in the demeanour of their host.

"One can never be too prepared to fight off those who would threaten one's way of life…by whatever means necessary," he replied abruptly. "Ah, here is the food."


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

.

The garden stretched from the house and down to the river that was concealed by the rise in the land. Adisa strolled down the path, glad to escape the dining room. Erlend had been very careful to keep the conversation centred on the deal they were hoping to make but Adisa was almost certain that Erlend did not mean to honour his pledge to provide medical equipment or at the very least would not part with the most advanced discoveries. His duplicity disturbed her deeply, but she knew better than to challenge him.

"Adisa," Davis called out to her as he rushed to catch up. Adisa closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath before turning.

"Major Davis." The smile came to her lips more easily than she had expected. As he returned her smile she felt her heart begin to pound. She knew, now, what it was, and she understood only too clearly the dangers that littered the path should she take it.

"I thought you might like some company."

"Did my father…does he know you have followed me?" she asked, nervously.

"I…don't know. Is it important?"

"No, I suppose it isn't." They wandered on in silence until they reached the bank of the river. The moons reflected in the water and it shimmered as the breeze skated across the surface.

"I get the impression…would you rather be alone. I can return to…" Davis began.

"No," Adisa replied a little too quickly. She shook her head and began to walk on down the river, her cheeks burning. Davis caught her up and took her hand to stop her. This time it was different, tender even, and it terrified her.

"Adisa..." he began

"Sit with me," she interrupted as she removed her hand from his and settled herself down on the grass. "I would like you to tell me something of yourself."

"You seem to know a lot about me already," Davis replied as he rubbed his hand on the grass to check for damp before unbuttoning his jacked and joining her.

Adisa said nothing.

"What do you want to know?"

"Tell me about you, your work, your family."

"Well there isn't much to tell really. I'm career military, as was my father before me. He died when I was young though. My mother…my mother is sick. I try to spend as much time with her as I can but…she doesn't really know who I am most of the time."

"I'm sorry, that must be very difficult for you."

He shrugged and sighed. "I miss her but, in some respects, it's better this way. She isn't aware of my long absences. Selfishly, it stops me feeling as guilty as I would if her mind was…well…as sharp as it was a couple of years ago."

"I'm sure that she must be very proud of you. You have an important job and people respect you," she smiled, placing her hand on his, then quickly withdrawing it and hoping that, in the limited light, her awkwardness would be less visible. "Do you have a family of your own?"

He shook his head. "Another side effect of the job."

"That is unfortunate," she replied with less conviction than she had hoped.

"So, what about you?" he asked, clearing his throat.

"I have also dedicated myself to my work." She turned and stared out across the river. "Besides, I don't think that my father will ever consider any man a suitable partner for me," she laughed.

"Maybe he'll relent one day. You just need to find the right man," Davis chuckled.

"We should return the house." Adisa quickly stood.

"Why?" Davis asked, joining her.

"Because…" Tears gathered in her eyes, but Davis said nothing, waiting until she was ready to speak. She wanted to tell him the truth, to tell him how he made her stomach flip every time she saw him; how she couldn't bear the thought of him leaving her behind and forgetting all about her. but deep inside she knew it could never be what she wanted. "I should not be alone out here with you. I scarcely know you."

"It's funny because I feel as though I've known you for ever," Davis said much to his own surprise.

"Of course you do," she mumbled to herself then looked up at him. "I am really very sorry. I should not have encouraged this. Please, we must return."

.

* * *

Carter wiped her forehead leaving a dirty trail of perspiration behind. Jackson, Mitchell and Davis, with the assistance of several of the Kvenla people, had spent two days digging the DHD free of the rock and soil under which it had been buried. At first glance it hadn't seemed too badly damaged but on closer investigation the news that Carter had to deliver was not as positive.

"I'm going to have to take it apart. It's as though all the keys are locked down," she muttered to herself.

"Carter," Mitchell yelled to her.

"I'm sorry, it's like on an old fashion typewriter. If you slam your hand down onto the keys all the little hammers lift and jam together. I don't know…I'm going to have to break it down. I just hope that we can fix it."

"Commander Thoril said we should just ask for anything that we need to repair it," Davis offered, clapping his hands together to remove the dirt and stretching out the muscles in his back.

"Well, make yourself a shopping list, Sam," Mitchell joked.

"Where is Commander Thoril, anyway?" Sam asked. "I feel a bit awkward living in her apartment when she's not there." Her eyes were on Davis.

"Erlend said she was in the middle of an experiment in the sealed lab at the foot of the mountains," Mitchell offered.

"He told you that?" Carter asked, somewhat surprised by the detailed information.

"Nope! I overheard him. Seems our Commander Thoril is quite the talent."

"Well, hopefully General Landry will dial in when we don't make contact and we can request anything that the Kvenla can't supply," Jackson suggested. "Perhaps if he can get hold of the Tok'ra they might have one of those remote diallers we can use. In the meantime, I'll go and speak to Erlend."

"Well, there isn't a great deal we can do here now. I suggest we go and get cleaned up and get something to eat," Mitchell said.

.

* * *

Adisa slipped from the mountain laboratory complex and out into the warm evening air. The sun had long since set but she had no desire to return to her apartment. Avoiding the path through the city, she made her way around the outside of the dome and down to the beach. The smell of the salty air was a panacea to her troubled mind. As she reached the sand, she slipped off her boots. The gentle sound of the water lapping at the shoreline and the rocks brought with it a sense of serenity she had not felt since the arrival of the visitors from Earth. She walked to the water's edge and allowed the tide to wash over her bare feet as she continued to slowly stroll. A noise behind her drew her attention. She stopped, listening carefully, almost certain she could make out the sound of footsteps in the gravel. Withdrawing her weapon, she spun on the spot. Davis threw his hands up and stopped dead.

"Whoa!" he cried.

"What are you doing here?"

"Couldn't sleep," he replied.

Adisa took a deep breath, feeling the tension leave her. She returned the weapon to its holster. "I could have killed you. It isn't wise to be walking out here at night."

"You are," he retorted.

"I know this planet. You do not."

"You said that you'd show it to me," he replied.

"I know…I'm sorry. It's just…" she stammered, turning away and continuing along the beach at an increased pace.

"Adisa, stop!" he called out, but she didn't even look back. "Adisa, please. What have I done?"

She stopped and spun around. His close proximity took her by surprise. "You've done nothing. I just wish…I wish that you had never come here. I wish that I had not met you!" she cried. "And I pray to the gods that Samantha is able to complete the repairs to that device as soon as possible so you will all be gone, and life here can return to normal." She began to march back up the beach towards the path into the city.

"Is that really how you feel?" he called after her.

She stopped and turned. "Yes," she said, casting her eyes to the sand afraid that he would see the indecision in her face.

"Then look me in the eyes and tell me that," he said softly, lifting her chin with his forefinger.

Tears glistened in her eyes as she looked at him. "I can't," she whispered. "I have never felt this way."

"Nor have I," he replied.

"It doesn't make sense and it cannot be. We have known one another for no time at all and yet..."

"I know."

"It terrifies me."

"Me too," he smiled. "But does that mean we should ignore it?" Gently he caressed her cheek with his fingertips eroding the final shreds of her resolve. His breath was hot against her skin as he planted feather-like kisses on her neck and his stubble grazed her cheek, her words of resistance became nothing more than an inarticulate whimper.

.

* * *

The corridor outside her apartment was in darkness when Adisa and Davis reached her front door. She fumbled in her pockets to find the access fob, but it was missing. Adisa swore under her breath, realising that it was probably somewhere in the sand.

"I can't believe I've been so careless," she whispered. "I'll have to go back and find it." She leaned against the wall and stared at the ceiling.

"Come back with me." His gravelly voice sent fire through her veins. He pressed his lips to hers with the full force of the passion that had blazed within him since they had met. She moaned softly against his mouth as he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her body hard against his own, every part of her body responding to his touch. Neither of them had noticed the door of her apartment opening or the disapproving figure of Samantha Carter in the doorway.

"Major Davis!" she barked.

Adisa and Davis stood motionless for a moment.

"Colonel," he replied.

"May I have a word?"

"Sam, please. It isn't his fault. If you will just let me explain," Adisa begged.

"Would you please excuse us, Commander Thoril," Sam said without taking her eyes from Major Davis.

"Sam, please…"

"It's alright, Adisa," Davis smiled to her. Adisa hesitated for a moment before stepping inside and closing the door.

Sam stared at Davis, her expression thunderous and her hands on her hips.

"What the hell were you doing?" she asked in a furious whisper. Davis remained silent. "What are thinking? You know that his is completely against regulations, right?"

"Yes, Colonel," he replied.

"So?" she pressed.

"It didn't seem to bother Colonel Mitchell when he got tangle up with Doctor Varrick on Galar."

"And look at the mess that got him in. Exactly how far has this gone, Major?"

The muscles of his jaw clenched as he stared at her. "With respect, ma'am, that is none of your business."

"It is absolutely my business when I'm your CO. You will stay away from her, Major. Another day or two and I think I can have the DHD working again. Until then I suggest you stick to your job. I appreciate that you don't go off-world very often, but we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. You are here to negotiate for technology, not your own love-life. Unless you're in the meeting hall, assisting with the repairs or with another member of SG1 you will not leave your accommodation. That's an order. Do you understand me?"

.

* * *

Even before the sun rose the following morning, Carter had returned to the DHD, wanted to avoid any confrontation with Adisa. Mitchell had also risen early, his sleep having been disturbed by the late night, or rather early morning, return of Davis to the house they were sharing.

"I didn't expect to find you here?" he said, running his fingers through his bed-hair.

"I wanted to get an early start," Carter replied, pulling the cover off the rear of the device and crouching.

"Davis came in late last night. Said he'd been down to the ocean," Mitchell said casually, gauging Sam's reaction. He heard the slight sigh and noticed her pause in her work. Finally, she stood again.

"I think…actually I know that he has got himself mixed up with Commander Thoril."

"Mixed up?"

"Come on, Cam. Do I have to spell it out? You suspected as much yourself, didn't you?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Do you need me to speak with him?"

Sam shook her head. "I told him to stay clear of her. He still has a job to do and she is a distraction. Besides…there's something that's making me a bit uncomfortable. The more time I spend here the more I feel that they're hiding something."

"I'm almost sure I said the same thing, and everyone thought I was paranoid!" Mitchell said with a slightly smug smile.

With a tilt of her head and a roll of her eyes, Sam knelt down and continued her work.

"This looks like trouble," Mitchell said as he watched Adisa race from the trees towards them.

"Colonel Carter, is the device repaired?" she asked as she approached with a squadron of Kvenla guard.

"What's going on?" Mitchell replied.

Carter answered Adisa. "Not yet. Almost. Probably another day or two and…"

"Then you must return to the city immediately." Adisa interrupted.

"Why?" Carter asked.

"We have detected a vessel approaching our atmosphere. We have attempted communication with them, but they have yet to respond. We are assuming they are hostile. The defence grid is active, but it hasn't been put to the test for many years. We will have to cloak the city and take it out of phase. You won't be able to return."

"Just a few more…" Carter replied.

"There is no time…" Adisa's response was cut short by the sound of the stargate activating.

"Incoming," Mitchell yelled.

"Commander Thoril!" came a cry from within the treeline. "Look!"

Jackson and Davis rushed from the trees to join them, Jackson shouting about Jaffa.

"You have to get out of here. Call your men back," Carter called to Adisa.

"They've penetrated the defence grid," Adisa cried, pointing to the jaffa swarming over the hill.

"You have to go!" Jackson yelled.

"We will stay and fight," Adisa replied. "This is our planet."

"You can't! You don't have armour," Davis said, taking her by the arm.

"Nor do you. I'm not leaving," she replied, pulling her weapon from its holster.

"That's no match for them, Adisa," he replied. "I've seen them fight."

"I have to stay. Would you not do the same for your own world?" She reached out, placing her hand on his cheek and gently kissed him.

"Major," Carter yelled. "Focus!"

"óhræddr!" Adisa cried out to the Kvenla soldiers now surrounding them.

"óhræddr?" Mitchell asked.

Jackson translated. "It's from...old Norse," he said. "It means unafraid or...without fear."


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

.

Slowly, Adisa opened her eyes and instantly the headache began to drum. Her hands shot to her face, blocking out the light. Everything seemed enhanced and it crossed her mind that the last time she had felt this bad was when she had taken too much wine at the Vinor's inauguration banquet. She rolled over onto her side and peeked from between her fingers.

"Where am I?" she muttered to herself, wishing she could turn down the brightness that was reflecting off the copious amount of gold leaf decorating the walls. Carefully she dragged herself upright on the hard metal platform that had served as her bed, stretching out stiff limbs. A memory jolted through her mind. Daniel Jackson had pushed her to the ground, out of the way of the first staff blast and she had fallen heavily before dragging herself out of sight. She remembered the sound of the staff blasts and the peppering weapons of her people as they fought alongside SG1. Jackson had managed to make it to the trees. Mitchell's voice still rang in her ears, screaming for them to all get to cover. She had stood and started to run and that is when the searing pain had ripped through her body; a staff blast catching her square in the stomach. She knew she had fallen where she stood, and she could still remember the look on Davis' face as Carter dragged him away. For a moment, she was angry; furious that they could have left her there. What was it they always said? "Never leave a man behind." She mentally shook herself. Mitchell had done the right thing. She was dead after all – or should have been.

Lifting the hem of the black shirt she wore, she placed her hand on her stomach. There was no wound, not even a scar. Her feet were cold. She hadn't noticed before, but now they felt like ice. The feeling dragged another memory from the recesses of her mind. She had been so very cold as she had lay, dying on the damp grass. A Jaffa had stood over her, his weapon primed. Had he fired? No, someone had stopped him. There had been a voice…breaking through the darkness that was washing over her…she saw nothing…but the voice…she couldn't forget that…or had she imagined it. She was struggling to distinguish anything in her jumbled mind.

"I see that you are awake," The voice was deep with a strange resonance that she immediately recognised. It was the voice of the man who had prevented her death; it was the voice of a Goa'uld.

"How did you find us?" she began, just above a whisper. She lifted her head and tried to focus her eyes. A vague sense of recognition disturbed her for a moment. He was tall, his dark hair – black or brown, she couldn't be sure under the light – was smattered with grey, and he sported a well-trimmed salt and pepper beard. Under other circumstances she could have thought him handsome, but he was an alien…a body snatching 'thing' and she was scared. "Please, I am nobody...I'm just...I can't help you."

"Nobody? Hmmm…" He waved his hand and one of the Jaffa who had accompanied him pressed a button outside the room, removing the forcefield that had sealed her in.

"Bring her," he commanded, turning away and disappearing from sight. The larger of the Jaffa placed his arm around Adisa, holding her up as they made their way from the cell.

The Goa'uld was stood with his back to the door, staring out of a window at the far end on the highly-decorated room, into the blackness of space. The Jaffa brought her before his master and released her. Immediately, her legs failed her, and she dropped to her knees, her head down.

"You show reverence before your god! That is a good beginning." he said as he spun around and looked down at her. The resonance in his voice unnerved her but his suggestion drove a renewed determination. She tried to get to her feet, to level the field, but her earlier exertion had sapped what little energy she had.

"Please believe me when I tell you that this is anything but reverence," she spat. "You are not a god. You are beneath contempt."

"You should be grateful. You were very badly injured, close to death in fact." He took a seat opposite her, spreading his arms across the back of the sumptuous sofa and crossing his leather clad legs. His eyes never left hers and the smile never left his lips.

"You saved my life only that you can torture me and kill me yourself."

"You speak very freely, and you seem to have no concern for your own safety." He sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on steepled fingers. "Interesting. You do not recognise me. You have no idea who I am. If you did, you would hold your tongue."

"I do not care who you are. You have no right to keep me here,"

"I am Ba'al," he said, watching for her reaction. She tried hard not to let the sudden, justifiable terror show but the slight widening of her eyes and the hitch in her breathing gave her away.

"Ah, so you have _heard_ of me. Good," he smiled.

"But I thought…You're dead."

Ba'al laughed and nodded. "Several times."

"You and all the System Lords were disposed of!"

"I am more resourceful…and more determined than the Tauri give me credit for," Ba'al replied bitterly. "You think yourselves so clever."

"What do you want with me?" she asked with a confidence she did not feel.

"Information," he answered simply.

"I don't know how many more times I have to tell you. I know nothing?"

"You know more than you are telling me. For instance, why were SG1 on a planet that has not been accessible through the Chaapa'ai for centuries? Did those people invite you? We're you planning to mine the naquadah deposits, depleted as they are?"

"What?" She frowned.

"You were planning an alliance of some form, perhaps?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she replied, suddenly realising that he assumed her to be a traveller from Earth. She supressed a smile. "I can't answer your questions."

"Oh, I'm sure I can get what I need…one way or another. Your co-operation is not...essential." He stood, towering over her, and outstretched his arm, uncurling gold tipped fingers. A red crystal glowed in the centre of the device that covered his palm and snaked up his arm.

"We are taught to endure torture," she hissed at him. "You will not break me."

"The Kara Kesh can inflict suffering, the like of which you cannot imagine and will not be able to 'endure'. You will tell me everything I wish to know…before you die and believe me when I tell you that you can do that numerous times before I'm finished with you."

He lowered his hand until his palm was mere centimetres from her face and then the pain began; terrifying and relentless. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she fought against it.

"Who contacted the Tau'ri?"

"I cannot say," she mouthed through the pain.

"Give me a name and I will let you go."

Slowly she shook her head.

"How are those people still alive?" he yelled.

"My people defied you," she whispered, a slight smile on her lips.

"Your people?" he snapped.

She pressed her lips together and for several long seconds the only sound she could hear was that of her own voice as she begged him to stop – aloud or just in her mind, she could not tell.

"Your mind is stronger than I had anticipated," he smiled, lowering his arm as she collapsed onto the floor. "But I don't have time to play games with you." He removed the Kara kesh, placing it on a table nearby and opened a small black box. "Jaffa, secure our guest." The guard obeyed, dragging Adisa to her feet and pushing her into a carved wooden chair before securing the metal restraints around her wrists and ankles. Ba'al approached again, a small white disc in his fingers.

"We shall take a more direct approach." Grabbing her by her hair, he pushed her head to expose her right temple and pressed the disc into place. Adisa cried out but the pain was short lived. Picking up another, he placed it on his own temple, a slight flicker of his brow his only concession to the discomfort.

"Now, shall we see what you have buried in that feeble Tau'ri mind?"

She could feel him walking among her memories, further and further back into her own history. Even as she relived conflicts and watched as her friends died, he stood, impassive. Suddenly his eyes widened, and he took a step back from her, ripping his disc free. He stared at her for a moment and then began calling out in a language she did not understand but she did not need to speak Goa'uld to know that whatever he had seen had disturbed him.

.

The Goa'uld had left the planet's surface as quickly as they had arrived, but the sensors confirmed that the ship was still in orbit. Vinor Erlend stood at the head of the table in the conference room talking to a collection of military leaders and government officials.

"We must retaliate. We cannot allow them to think that we will be invaded and not fight back," the head of the armed forces argued.

"We have only one missile that is capable of reaching the atmosphere...and you know what happened in testing. The defence grid had failed. We must remain in the city…remain cloaked and we must active the phase shift. We have supplies enough that we can wait it out for many months if necessary and they will not locate us here," another man objected.

"Where is my daughter?" Erlend asked as he looked around at the faces of the men at the table.

"This is not the time to worry about your own family, Vinor. You must think of the entire population. If you cannot do that…if you cannot remain professional, then I will be forced to invoke section thirty-four." Supreme Commander Brynjar cried.

A young dark-haired man stood. "Let us keep our heads. We do not need military intervention in the council. I am sure that the Vinor is just concerned for Adisa, as are we all."

"Vinor?"

Jackson stepped forward and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Vinor Erlend. Adisa was shot by a Jaffa. I saw her fall. I'm afraid…she's dead."

Erlend stared blankly at him then shook his head. "No, you are mistaken. Why would she have been…"

"She came to warn us, and she didn't have time to…she wasn't wearing any armour. The blast…"

Mitchell glanced at Carter as the Vinor dropped into his seat, his lips moving but no words were forthcoming.

"Tell us how we can help," Jackson said gently. Slowly, Vinor Erlend turned to face Jackson, his eyes full of hate.

"You have brought this on us. You and your friends. Nobody had come through the Fornfara for centuries. We had remained safe, hidden here and then you arrived and bring with you this Goa'uld scourge." He pulled himself to his feet and nodded to his Elite guard who immediately apprehended the visitors.

"You said you'd never heard of the Goa'uld," Jackson pointed out.

"Did I?"

"Yeah, you did," Mitchell replied, "And I'm pretty sure none of us mentioned them."

"Keep them secure until this is over," Erlend yelled as the team were forcibly removed.

.

JAFFA KREE!" His voice echoed through the room. Within moments, two Jaffa guards appeared holding a large glass bowl between them. Ba'al rolled up the sleeve of his ornate robe and dipped his hand into the bowl, withdrawing a hideous snake-like creature.

"Ready her!" he commanded as he approached. The creature in his hand squirmed and squealed. The Jaffa guard grabbed Adisa's head, twisting her until the back of her neck was exposed.

"You are wasting your time," she screamed as she felt the symbiote touch her flesh and begin to burrow into her body. "We will not succumb."

"If I am correct, you will succumb long enough for me to find what I need."

Ba'al stood back, watching as her torment continued until finally her eyes rolled back and her head slumped forward. He folded his arms across his chest and began to circle the chair, tapping his lips impatiently with his forefinger.

With a sudden intake of breath, Adisa sat bolt upright in the chair again. Her eyes snapped open and began to dart about the room until they settled on Ba'al.

"My Lord Ba'al," she smiled, the strange Goa'uld reverberation in her voice and the white flash of her eyes confirming the implant had been successful.

"Satet, it has been too long,"

"It is an honour to serve you again, my Lord,"

"I am sure that it is," Ba'al smiled. "I need some information that I believe is buried in the mind of your new host."

"Anything I can do to help you, my Lord Ba'al."

"Who is she?"

"She is...a…Tau'ri." Satet hesitated.

"Almost but not quite!" Ba'al replied irritably. "There is something more. Something hidden. FIND IT!"

Satet was silent for a moment and then stared at Ba'al, eyes wide in terror.

"She is Hok'taur my Lord Ba'al but…no…she is…she is…Goa'uld." Satet could not disguise the panic that gripped her as she fought against the restrains, the metal cutting into her arms.

"Impossible!" Ba'al roared. "There was no symbiote."

"I speak the truth. Please, my lord, you must understand what this means. She is the one they spoke of."

"No! I would have recognised her…sensed her," Ba'al argued. He placed his hands on the arms of the chair to which Satet remained secured and leaned in towards her. "Does she know?" he asked, his breath moving the stray curls over her eyes.

"No, my lord. Her conscious mind is…she is still unaware. The truth is hidden well but she is awakening. She has sensed me…" She stopped, and her face contorted with pain. Ba'al frowned as she saw the muscles of her jaw contract and twitch as she clenched her teeth and cried out. "Forgive me, my Lord," she screamed as he watched on, impassive. "She will not…her mind is strong…stronger than…"

"This is more than mere coincidence. That gate had not been active for generations," he mumbled to himself. "How could she be alive?"

"My lord Ba'al, she will kill me," Satet cried out as Ba'al made his way to the door.

"Not for some time. Until then you can provide me with the information that I require. Continue to co-operate and I may free you. Remember, your survival is extraneous and is entirely in my hands."

"My lord." The first prime called to his master as he removed his fingers from Adisa's wrist. "The host is failing."

"Weaker than I thought," Ba'al said to himself. "Return her to the sarcophagus. I still have business with Commander Thoril."

.

The accommodation SG1 were escorted to was not the prison cell they had expected but they were quite clearly not free to move around. Each of them was assigned a guard who remained in the same room at all times. Davis had not spoken since being dragged away from the battle field and now sat on the edge of a bed, staring out of the window at nothing. Carter took a seat beside him and lowered her head.

"I'm sorry, Major," she said softly. He simply nodded.

"She isn't dead, Colonel Carter," Davis replied. "But what she could suffer at the hands of…" He paused and turned to meet Carters eye. "You saw the Jaffa. You know which system lord they are allied to?"

"Ba'al." Carter said simply. "It may be that they were his Jaffa and are now working for another Goa'uld."

"No, you know that's not the case," Davis replied. "And now we're stuck in here and can't even try to rescue her."

"Major, you have to understand that it would not have been a priority even if we could be sure that she is still alive. We both saw her fall. I'm sorry, but…she can't have survived."

"I can't accept that. I'd know."

Sam took a deep breath and stood up. "You need to get yourself together, Major."

.

Swinging her legs from the bed, Adisa wobbled as she stood, grabbing at the wall to steady herself. It wasn't a cell this time but just the same, she realised there was nowhere to go. She was no longer wearing the black trousers and shirt she had been on her capture. It had been replaced by an embroidered black tunic that was a couple of sizes too large and a pair of loose-fitting trousers that felt much like her pyjamas. For a moment, she wondered who had dressed her but didn't have long to worry about it before she realised that she was not alone.

"Commander Adisa Thoril." Ba'al addressed her directly. "Did you sleep well?"

"How do you know my name?" she asked, trying to match his stare.

He held up the small white disc between his fingers momentarily before returning it to its box. "I did tell you I didn't need your co-operation."

"So why are you keeping me here?"

"You are my guest," he replied.

"I am your prisoner!" she objected. "I don't know what makes you think you can treat me in this way."

"Do you really think that I would keep my prisoners in such comfort?" Ba'al interjected, chuckling. "And I fail to see how you can object to your treatment. I have saved your life, given you comfortable accommodation and will continue to offer my hospitality…unless you do anything that will make that…difficult."

"Torture is not my idea of hospitality," Adisa yelled.

Ba'al nodded slowly, the left corner of his mouth twisting in to half a smile. He rose from his seat and approached her.

"I wonder…do you have any understanding of who you are?"

"I do not think I'm the one with identity issues. You claim to be a god!" she exclaimed with a sardonic grin, surprising herself as well as her host.

He smiled and shook his head. "The people thought we were gods. We simply perpetuated that belief. I admit that some among our number began to believe their own propaganda in the end."

"You are a delusional egotist!" Adisa laughed, almost unable to believe what she was hearing.

He smiled. "I know things about you that you don't even know about yourself. For example, you are not Tau'ri."

"What does that even mean? What is a Tau'ri?" she cried.

He disregarded her question. "You are Hok'taur."

"Well, I don't speak Goa'uld, but I assume that's offensive."

"I am telling you that you are not a true human."

His cockiness was starting to irritate her. "Of course not. I am from Kvenla and you are insane!"

"Possibly," he chuckled. "But that doesn't make what I'm telling you any less true. You are not the same as the rest of your people."

"I have no idea what you're talking about?" Her voice was raised now, and she was stood toe to toe with him. "I am the daughter of Erlend, Vinor of Kvenla. My blood is red, the same as all my people."

Ba'al picked up a glass from the table, smashing it against the surface and running the razor-like edge across his hand, holding it out to her. "That proves nothing," he grinned. "You, however, are something of a legend among the Goa'uld. Stories of you persisted. It has been over a hundred years since I have heard from the Kvenla." He reached out and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. "And then you of all people literally fall at my feet."

"Over a hundred years old?" she scoffed. "Well, you're looking good on it. How many hosts have you been through in that time?"

"Let me help you to learn who you really are," he said. The strange resonance was no longer in his voice making him sound softer, gentler.

"I just want to go home. I can't help you and even if I am this…Hok'taur that you are suggesting, I don't care. If you are going to kill me then go ahead and get it…" Her words were halted as he moved towards her. Only centimetres from her face, she could feel his breath against her cheek.

"Kill you? I have other plans for you, assuming you do not force my hand."

"Then let me go," she demanded. A sudden pain ripped through her body and she collapsed into the chair. "What have you done to me?"

"Try to remain calm and it will be less painful."

"The symbiote. It is still…I can feel her inside my mind. GET IT OUT!" she screamed, pulling herself to her feet and lunging towards him.

Ba'al stepped aside and smiled. "Now that I know who you are, there really is no need."

She called out after him, demanding explanations but he did not answer or look back. Dropping back into her chair she put her head in her hands as the door slid closed, slowly slipping into unconsciousness as the pain overwhelmed her.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

.

"How are you feeling?" The voice broke through the dark silence like a staff blast. It grated on every nerve in her body. Her head pounded and throbbed as though it was swelling, fit to burst.

"Please help me!" she muttered, tears streaking her cheeks.

Gradually the voice became clearer in her frenzied mind and she knew that she was being addressed by Ba'al.

"The pain…it's…help me…please…there must be something…" As she spoke he leaned over her. In the palm of his hand and orange disc glowed. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched it pulsate.

"What are you doing?" she sobbed. "For God's sake, am I not suffering enough for you?"

"Your suffering gives me no pleasure. Now be silent," he commanded as he held the crystal disc over her head. She screwed her eyes shut and waited but second by second the pain diminished until almost completely vanquished.

"Thank you," she said, breathlessly.

"The fight against the symbiote can be challenging for the host. It also usually takes much longer."

"The Kvenla cannot play host to the Goa'uld."

"But then you are not everything you appear to be."

"I really do not understand any of this," Adisa breathed, putting her head in her hands again.

"There was a time, centuries ago, when the Goa'uld and the Kvenla were allies. We worked together under a rather…fragile treaty. They mined the naquadah for which they had no use and we provided technology, such as we deemed appropriate, in payment. It worked well…for a time."

"That is a lovely story but it is more than ridiculous," Adisa said, looking up again. "I can imagine no circumstances under which my people would work with you."

"Tell me what you know about this ship," Ba'al asked, removing the devise and handing it to his Jaffa before dismissing him with a wave of his hand.

She pulled herself upright and shook her head. "Nothing. How could I? You said you were in no mind to play games. Neither am I."

"Try!" he commanded.

"Look I…" she began but the white flash of his eyes changed quickly changed her mind. For a few moments, she could hear only the sound of her own breathing as the pictures began to form in her mind, but this time there was no pain; only fear as she remembered things she could never have known.

"I don't…Ha'tak, this is a Ha'tak. This is why you needed the naquadah. The engines of your ships are designed to use the naquadah. There are armies of jaffa aboard…and dozens of fighters. You could have slaughtered us all but you didn't. You…you think you know me…something about me is familiar to you…" Adisa turned to face Ba'al and saw the look of concern flash across his face.

"You have unique abilities. One of which allows you to…absorb information from others – a connection to their thoughts."

"Telepathy? No!" she snapped, climbing off the bed and pushing past him. "That is nonsense."

"The galaxy is far bigger and contains more than your limited imagination can contemplate. Once your mind is free you will find you are capable of so much more." He stared at her for a moment. "You have already experienced it haven't you. With Major Davis."

"Do not speak of him."

He chuckled to himself. "I touched a nerve I think. But you are afraid that his feelings for you aren't real because you think you have projected your own onto him."

"How could you…"

"That is only a small part of what you are capable of."

"So, I was correct." Her sadness was tangible. She stared at him, unable to take in everything he was saying. Slowly she shook her head and, turning, she wandered to the window, staring out into the darkness and to the planet below. "No…what you say is impossible," she said quietly. "Knowledge cannot be transferred that way. The physiology of our brain…"

"But then you are not what you appear to be!" he interrupted.

"And nor are you. What you did…the knowledge of this ship…is some Goa'uld trick. That hand devise…"

She spun around and was face to face with him. There was no room to escape.

"It was no trick," he said, reaching out and pushing a stray curl from her face.

"Then it was foolhardy. If you have given me all of your knowledge how do you know I will not pass it on to the…" She stopped dead. "The Tau'ri?"

"It is the name given to the people of Earth by the Goa'uld and other races – including the Kvenla. And the contact we had was too brief for you to have obtained any memory I did not wish you to have. I allowed you to see only what I wanted you to know, to prove what I say. I am not stupid."

"Well of course not. You are a god after all," she smiled obsequiously.

"Work with me and I will help you in return."

"And if I refuse? I'll remain your prisoner? I mean, it is a very nice cell but it would be a cell nevertheless, and I doubt it would be long before you began torturing me to make me comply. I have heard about the things you have done. Nishta. Tal'vak acid?" She gazed at him for a moment. "I can… _feel…_ "

Ba'al interrupted. "I can be _very_ generous."

"I cannot imagine that you have anything to offer that I could want," she replied, her heart beating just a little faster as he smiled at her again. He folded his arms across his chest as he ran his forefinger thoughtfully across his lower lip.

"I perhaps should have told you. The process can work both ways. You revealed something of yourself to me too. Something that was… _very_ clear in your mind." He raised an eyebrow, the iniquitous smile never leaving his lips. They stood in silence for a moment until finally Ba'al spoke again.

"I have no argument with the people of Kvenla. They will be safe and I will release you but it will not be long before you need to find me again. Once you remember…once you realise."

"I do not want to know any more. I wish you to leave my people alone. We have not been any bother to anyone for centuries and yet you planned to come to our world…but what for if you abandoned it so long ago? You cannot use the symbiotes because we learned to fight them although you have tried. Satet did not give her life willingly, did she? She struggled to the last. She fought me, screaming in my mind. But she was superfluous. You were surprised to find us and yet still you...It wasn't the Kvenla people that you were looking for though, was it?" She stared at him for a moment, puzzled. "But then what…or who? You were playing the long game. The tremor and subsequent landslide that uncovered the gate…it was you and then you tried to trap them again. This was about the visitors from Earth. You wanted to capture them and then…what? Something changed…"

"Interesting." He clasped his hands behind his back and began to pace the room, finally stopping by the door. "You are free to leave."

"I have not agreed to your terms. I will not, so why would you simply release me?"

"Because I know that you will be back." He pressed the panel beside the door and it slid silently open. "Jaffa!" he cried out. "I shall have my first prime accompany you to back to the surface."

She made her way slowly to the door, still deeply suspicious. Finally reaching the corridor, she stopped and turned back to him. "If I were to… to change my mind…how would I find you?" she asked as she walked passed him, following the Jaffa.

He reached and snatched her arm, looking her directly in the eyes.

"There is no 'if'. I will see you again. You belong to me."

.

* * *

Adisa walked carefully from the ring site, trying to recall every step of the way. She had to find her way back here and destroy the site. That way she could be sure that the Goa'uld could never bother them again. An enemy being able to pass through the defence shield was unexpected. Her bare feet hurt as the slate on the hillside slashed through her delicate flesh. By the time, she was within reach of the city, or at least where she knew the city would be, she was exhausted. She could see the stargate and the freshly exposed DHD and wondered if she would ever have the courage to advise her father to destroy them both as she knew she must. As she picked her way across what had been the battlefield she was gratified to see none of her own people lying dead but something about it bothered her. Could she really have been gone long enough that they had been recovered or had they been so incredibly fortunate. She walked a little further and was almost at the trees when her legs buckled beneath her and she dropped to the ground. As she lay, her eyes fixed on the clouds ahead trying desperately not to lose consciousness, she thought about the visitors from earth, hoping that they had all escaped, praying that Paul Davis was still alive and making up her mind that she was going to embrace this second chance she had been given.

.

* * *

Vinor Erlend looked at the monitors that surrounded his daughter and shook his head.

"She will live," the medic said as she entered the room.

"Well, of course she will," Erlend replied as though the man were stupid.

"What I mean, Vinor, is that she does not require the Lifdagar Kelda. She is uninjured but there is something you should know."

Erlend looked at the monitors again and then turned to the medic. "I know what it is that you wish to tell me and I say that you will breathe not one word of it."

"But Vinor…"

"I said not a word. She is my daughter. She is the daughter of the Vinor of Kvenla. There is only one way this could have happened."

"Vinor, you must understand that this was happening even before her abduction. Her medical examination after she returned from the rescue mission revealed signs that…well, I do not need to explain to you. I can not help her and we do not know what will happen."

Erlend approached the bed and looked down on the pale face of his daughter. He had always known that she was different. He had refused to allow the experiment to be terminated because he could not bear the thought of his daughter dying again. He had agreed to the conditions the Asgard had placed on her continued survival and now he wondered where they were. In his time of need, where was their protection and his comfort.

"I do not know what to do, my child," he whispered to her. He placed his hand over hers and he felt her fingers move. "Adisa?"

Her eyelids fluttered for a moment until her eyes opened and she frantically searched the room until she saw her father.

"My child," he smiled. "I am gratified that you are well."

"Father," she replied, her eyes boring into him. "Release them, please. They are not to blame for this."

"How do you know…They are not prisoners. They are in secure accommodation for their own safety."

"You blame them, but it was not their fault. They were brought here…the FornFara was bait in a trap. Release them."

"Very well, and then you must be de-briefed. We need to know what happened. I need to know where you were and what they did to you."

.

Adisa sat quietly in her hospital pyjamas, her hands clasped together resting on the metal table top. The chair, also metal, was bolted to the floor and there were two armed guards outside the door. This was not how her father had intended for her to be questioned but he had been strongly advised in clear terms that this was now a military matter and so Erlend had backed down. She didn't even look up when the door opened and Supreme Commander Brynjar entered the room.

"How are you feeling, Adisa?" he asked.

She cleared her throat. "I am well, thank you sir."

"Would you like some water,"

She shook her head.

"Where were you taken?" Brynjar asked as he took his seat.

"A space craft. Some kind of Ha'tak, I think. There was a window in the room and I could see the planet. They were in orbit and…it was all very gold. The Goa'uld have a garish sense of décor I think." She smiled but Brynjar remained stony faced.

"You were aboard a Goa'uld Ha'tak? Are you certain?"

"Yes."

"Who was in command?" Brynjar demanded. Adisa looked at him for a moment, then shook her head, suddenly reluctant to identify her captor. It felt like betrayal.

"He did not give his name," she said at last.

"Are you sure? Perhaps someone said something…"

"I said I do not know," she snapped.

"Can you describe the symbol they wore?"

"I cannot. I do not remember very much."

"Tell me what happened." She said nothing. "Were you interrogated?"

"Yes, but I revealed nothing."

"Did they attempt to implant a symbiote?"

"No, sir," she replied coldly. "We are Kvenla."

"That is as maybe, but it doesn't mean they didn't try. Please, Adisa, I have known you since you were an infant. It is essential for the safety of this planet, and everyone on, it that you tell me the truth."

Adisa remained silent. He stared at her for what felt like minutes on end and then suddenly stood.

"You are free to leave, but you will not resume duties until the medics confirm that you fit."

Adisa jumped to her feet. "I am fit now, Brynjar."

He took a deep breath and smiled. "Take some time, Adisa. There is no rush to return. Once the gate is clear and our visitors have returned to their own planet, we shall destroy it and we will be safe once again. Now, go home and get some rest."

As Adisa left the room, Erlend entered through a second door and took the seat she had vacated. Brynjar paced for a moment and then shook his head.

"She is lying, Vinor," he said

"Why would she lie?" Erlend objected. "There is no reason."

"You know who is out there, waiting…biding his time. Why would he let her go unless she had bargained with him?"

"Can you be sure that it was him, Brynjar?"

Brynjar picked up the clothing in which Adisa had been found. On the collar of the shirt was a small red symbol. "That is the symbol of Ba'al. He would not have released her unless…"

"Enough!" Erlend yelled, standing so suddenly that his chair toppled over. "I will not hear this. She would not lie to me. If she says she does not know then that is the truth."

"You are blinded by your family ties to her. Your selfishness has brought this upon us," Brynjar replied, harshly.

"If it had been your child, would you have done things differently?" Erlend argued.

"My child did die at the hands of the Goa'uld," Brynjar yelled.

"Forgive me, old friend. I had not forgotten. My words were ill-chosen." Erlend put his hand on Brynjar's shoulder.

"As were mine," Brynjar conceded. The two elderly men stood in silence for a moment. Brynjar was the first to speak. "There is an option. The arrival of the Tau'ri could be fortuitous. In the meantime, she must be watched. We know that he has the ability to penetrate the defence shield. We cannot afford for her to be influence by him."

.

* * *

The urgent knocking on the door of Adisa's residence startled her. Since her return from Ba'al she had been particularly tense. She stood absolutely still, looking around for her weapon and remembering that it had been lost on the battlefield. Another insistent rap drew her slowly towards the door.

"Adisa, it's me!" The voice made her stomach flip and she rushed up the corridor, throwing open the door. He didn't say a word as he entered, slamming the door behind him with his foot, never taking his eyes from hers. His hand slid to the nape of her neck and he pressed his lips to her, kissing her with growing insistence until her back was pressed up against the wall.

"I thought I'd lost you," he mumbled between his frantic caresses.

For a moment, she allowed herself to melt into his arms then, abruptly, she placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away.

"Before I let you go on, I need to tell you something," she whispered, tears in her eyes.

"I don't think I want to know," Davis said, taking a step back as a feeling of dread washed over him.

"It is possible…I think it may be possible that the feelings you have for me are born out of my desire for you to have them rather than…I know I'm not explaining this well. I'm afraid that I have made you feel what you feel by transmitting my own…need for you to love me, into your thoughts." Her mouth was dry as she waited for him to speak.

"Telepathy?" Davis replied.

"Yes, and I'm sorry. I didn't know for sure until…I felt the connection the moment that we met, You said that you felt you'd known me for ever. That is how I felt when I first saw you at the stargate. I made an excuse to stay in the council chambers because I wanted to be with you…I wanted you to want me…and I think that I may have…"

"I'm crazy about you because you are intelligent and funny and beautiful. I want to be with you and I hate every minute that I can't be."

"How can you be sure that it's real, though?"

He thought for a moment and then smiled. "If you're a telepath you'll be able to read my mind, right?"

"I suppose so,"

"Then do it!"

Adisa hesitated, afraid of what she might see. "If you allow me inside your thoughts, I will always be able to see them. You will not ever be able to keep me out."

"I don't want to," Davis said and again urged her on until finally she capitulated. As she looked directly into his blue eyes his thoughts became clear, as if he were speaking them. A sudden, dreadful and deep despair engulfed her as she watched her own execution at the hands of the Jaffa. He hadn't known that she had survived and yet somehow, he had been unwilling to believe the evidence of his own eyes.

"Now do you believe me," he whispered to her, startling her.

"You wanted to come and find me, even though the others said I was dead?"

"Yes," he replied simply.

"Why?"

"Because I refused to believe that you could have been taken from me. I was certain I'd know."

"When you leave here, they plan to destroy the gate. We will never be able to see each other again."

"I...I love you, Adisa. We'll find a way." He could feel the hammering of his heart. "Do you have any more questions?" he whispered.

"One," she replied breathlessly as she played with the buttons on his shirt, popping them open one by one. She heard his breath hitch as she placed her hands onto his chest. "Will you stay?"


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

.

The door buzzer cut through her slumber like a bolt of lightning. Adisa cursed under her breath and lay perfectly still for a moment, still wrapped in Davis' arms. She glanced over her shoulder at the sleeping figure beside her and wondered how he hadn't been awakened by the din. Again, it sounded until she could bear it no longer. Climbing out of her bed, she pulled on her trousers and a shirt before making her way down the corridor. Through the viewer, she could see her father and Colonel Mitchell. She suddenly thought about Sam, wondering if she had returned to the accommodation that night...and hoping that she had not. Steeling herself, she opened the door and her father immediately pushed passed her and into the apartment.

"Good morning father, Colonel Mitchell," she greeted as Mitchell entered, a little more politely.

"Are you alone?" her father barked.

"Father, really!" she objected.

"Where is he?" Erlend demanded.

"Who are you talking about," she persisted as her eyes scanned the room. There, on the floor tucked just beneath a chair was Davis' radio. She glanced at Mitchell who raised an eyebrow and looked down at the offending item then back to her. She held her nerve, her expression not altering.

"I know he is here, child. He was seen coming here and has not been seen leaving." Erlend looked beyond her to the entrance corridor and his face grew red. From the doorway of the bedroom, Davis emerged, dressed in his uniform trousers and shirt, his jacket slung over his arm.

"Major," Mitchell said, shaking his head. "Return to the gate."

"No!" Adisa cried out, pushing Mitchell out of her path with enough force to knock him clean off his feet. She ran straight into Davis' arms, tears rolling down her cheeks. "You can't allow them to…not now…"

"I won't, I can't," he said, staring into her shining panic-stricken eyes.

"Come back for me. I won't allow them to destroy the gate." Her voice was in his head, her lips still. He simply nodded in reply.

"You have defiled my only daughter, Major Davis. Is that what you people do?"

"No, it's not like that. I love your daughter, Vinor," Davis defended.

"Shut up, Davis!" Mitchell muttered from between gritted teeth.

"You are no longer welcome on Kvenla. You will leave immediately. I should demand the Rite of Soemid for this dishonour, but I am an old man. I shall satisfy myself with the knowledge that you shall not return here again, and my daughter will be safe from you. Guard!"

Adisa could feel the rage bubbling inside her as she stood, her back to Davis, staring at her father. The sound of booted feet could be heard outside the apartment, marching down the corridor towards them.

"Father, please…I cannot allow this."

"The guards will take you to my home where you will wait for me."

Mitchell was back on his feet and slowly made his way past Adisa who was preoccupied with her father. He put his hand on Davis' shoulder and pushed him towards the door.

"Are you going to let him do this?" Davis said in an angry whisper.

"I don't think that you're in a position to be asking for favours. You have broken just about every reg in the book!" Mitchell chastised under his breath.

.

At the gate, Carter and Jackson waited impatiently. As Mitchell half dragged Davis from the trees Jackson breathed a sigh of relief and immediately began dialling.

"Where have you been?" Carter yelled to them as they approached.

"Let's just get out of here…now before daddy changes his mind!" Mitchell said. Carter looked from Mitchell to Davis and shook her head. The moment the gate activated, Davis rushed through without a backwards glance.

Carter grabbed Mitchell's arm to stop him. "What happened?" she asked.

"Shall we just say that if he sets foot here again, there will be an angry father with a shotgun waiting for him," Mitchell replied and stepped through the gate.

On the other side, General Landry was waiting for them, together with a medical team. Davis had already left the gate room and Jackson was quickly nominated as the one to track him down. General Landry looked at Carter and Mitchell with raised eyebrows.

"Is there something I should be aware of?" he asked. Carter and Mitchell exchanged sidelong glances. "My office, now!" Landry demanded.

.

* * *

Adisa jumped to her feet as her father entered the room, his shoulders hunched and his feet scuffing the floor as he walked. She had never seen him look so old and or so tired. Gripped by concern for him, she approached and tried to take his hand, but he waved her away before making his way to the dining room and dropping heavily into the seat at the head of the table.

"Father," she began, pulling a chair closer to him. "Please speak to me."

"I cannot," he answered simply.

A lump rose in her throat as she saw the disappointment and pain in his eyes, but worse still, she could see fear.

"Please father, you cannot remain angry with me."

"How could this happen again…to have to watch as…"

"Again?" Adisa interrupted. She stared at him and saw his expression change as he recalled his words. "What do you mean?"

"Go home, Adisa. I will visit you shortly. I have a meeting I must attend. You will not leave your home. There will be guards posted outside your door at all times. There will be guards posted at the Fornfara with instructions to detain anyone coming through that gate. They will all be issued with an image of your Major Davis and they will have strict direction to shoot him on sight."

"You wouldn't!" she cried.

"Please leave now, Adisa."

"Very well, but you will explain yourself to me…or I shall be forced to find the answer myself."

Erlend looked up, directly into her eyes. "You would not…"

"If that is what it takes." She hesitated for a moment before standing and leaving her father alone.

.

Erlend dismissed the guard who had stood watch and closed the doors. He opened his communicator and activated the screen.

Several minutes passed before the screen flickered to life. "Thor," he greeted as the Asgard appeared on the screen.

"Erlend, it has been many years since you contacted us," Thor replied.

"I need your counsel. Adisa is remembering. I need your help."

Thor was silent, his large eyes blinking as he looked back at Erlend from the monitor. Erlend waited, holding his breath.

"No," Thor said at last.

"Please, you said that we were protected and yet we have been visited by the Goa'uld. My daughter was taken, and she will not speak of it."

"You have our protection."

"I require your intervention. Adisa has developed…an attachment to a Tau'ri male but worse, I believe the Goa'uld who took her was Ba'al," Erlend yelled at the monitor.

"Why would you not allow her relationship with the Tau'ri male?" Thor asked.

"You know why but that is not the point. You have to help her."

"No," Thor repeated. "We cannot assist. You understand our reason."

"I am begging you…"

"Your planet and your people will be protected. We cannot offer the same protection to the child."

"But it is your fault."

"Her creation was an error. We did everything in our power to prevent her memories resurfacing."

"But they are, and she is as much your responsibility as she is mine."

"Anath must make her own choice," Thor replied.

"Adisa! She is called Adisa." Erlend has lost control of his temper and gesticulated wildly at the expressionless Thor.

"As you wish," Thor replied and the screen went blank.

"Damn you!" Erlend screamed, throwing a fruit bowl at the wall. The door flew open and his personal guard flew inside, his weapon drawn.

"Vinor?" The guard scanned the room and, seeing all the doors were secured, he removed his helmet. "Is everything alright, Sir?

"Leave me alone," Erlend ordered.

.

* * *

Major Paul Davis sat in the mess, nursing an untouched cup of coffee. Jackson hesitated by the door for a moment. He had volunteered to speak with him but now, faced with the conversation, he had no idea what he was going to say. Eventually, he made his way to the table and pulled out a chair.

"Mind if I…erm…" Receiving no answer, he sat anyway. "How are you…you know…doing?" Jackson asked.

"Fine," Davis replied flatly.

"I understand. I mean…I've been there myself," he ventured. Davis continued to stare into his cup. "Look, I know it's not going to be easy but you have to…"

"Don't!" Davis snapped, glaring at him.

"You don't have a choice. You can't go back there. You know that."

Davis conceded the point but he wasn't ready to give up completely. "Are you going back?"

Jackson nodded.

"Then help me. Get a message to her. Give her the gate address and let her have the choice."

"Paul, I…" Jackson began. "I doubt that we'll even be able to see her. Erlend was pretty pissed according to Mitchell."

"He threatened me with Somid," David muttered.

"Soemd?" Jackson asked.

"Sounds right."

"That's very similar to the old Norse word for 'redress'" Jackson mused. "I think he was calling you out!"

"I have to see her," Davis replied.

"General Landry won't allow it. You know that. You don't want to do anything that will jeopardise your position."

"Then get my message to her,"

"If we're caught passing notes…"

"You don't need to pass her anything. She…" Davis sighed, wondering if Jackson was going to think him mad. "She's telepathic."

Jackson started at him for a moment, his mouth open.

"Telepathic?" he repeated, finally.

Davis nodded. "You have to allow her to access your thoughts but…I need this Daniel. Get a message to her, please."

.

* * *

Adisa sat alone on the roof terrace of her home watching as the twin moons became more visible in the failing light. The sadness within her was almost unbearable. Her father had refused to see her and she was under house arrest, contemplating many more lonely days stretching out before her. Everything she had accepted and believed in had changed in a matter of moments and all because of the explorers from Earth. She sipped her wine and pulled the blanket closer about her shoulders against the cool artificial air. She had never felt cold before and it served only to remind her of the plans she and Paul Davis had made. She could no longer deny the changes in her mind. Her nightmares seemed more real with each passing day. They had always been there, calling out to her in the night; distressing and dark. Now, they felt more like memories from a distant life that was just out of her reach, memories leaking through to her conscious mind.

"Have you had time to think about my proposal?" The voice, whilst unexpected, did not startle her and nor did she look at her visitor.

"There are glasses inside, or do the Goa'uld not drink?" she said, pointing to the wine bottle on the table.

"I brought my own," Ba'al replied. A moment later he placed two clean glasses on the table. The sound of a popping cork startled her. "I thought our meeting called for something special."

"I do not feel much like celebrating," she asked.

"We shall toast our alliance," he said as he offered her the glass. She placed her empty wine glass onto the floor and took the champagne.

"I have not agreed to help you," she replied.

"You will," he said, his lips curling into a meaningful smile. "I hear that your father has forbidden your lover to return to Kvenla,"

"That is none of your concern!" She turned in her chair to face him, staring directly and silently into his eyes. Finally, she turned away again. "Why can I not see your thoughts?"

He answered with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Although it is bad manners to try to read someone's thoughts without permission."

"Are you afraid of what I might find?" she snapped.

"Are you not afraid of what you might see?" he smiled in return.

"Where did you come by this?" she asked, taking another mouthful of the champagne.

"I was forced to spend some time on Earth and found that there were certain pleasures that I became accustomed to. This is one of them."

"I wonder, is everything on Earth as pleasant as this?" she mused.

Ba'al gave her an iniquitous smile. "Some things more than others. Perhaps we may experience them together…if you agree to a partnership."

"Is that how you know of Mitchell and the others?"

Ba'al let out a low, bitter laugh. "They have been a thorn in my side for…a very long time but you could be the answer to that little problem."

"I will not help."

"Of course, I was forgetting your _infatuation_ with Major Davis," he laughed.

"How dare you!" she yelled.

"Well, you might as well put him from your mind. You are mine," he said softly as he pushed a strand of hair from her face. "There is a connection between us. You have sensed it."

"I feel nothing for you," she cried, incredulous.

"But you protected my identity when you were questioned. You didn't tell them that it was my Ha'tak in orbit Although I'm sure they will have worked it out for themselves by now."

"How can you know that?" She jumped to her feet, backing away from him. Ba'al casually crossed his legs and sipped his champagne.

"Because once the telepathic link is established…"

"On board the Ha'tak!" she exclaimed. "So, you can access my thoughts whenever you wish?" It was not a question. She already knew the answer. "I would have no success if I were to appeal to your better nature, I suppose?"

"It does seem a little unlikely, doesn't it?"

"I want you to leave."

"No, you don't." His arrogance was becoming increasingly irritating.

"How did you get in here, anyway? There are two heavily armed guards outside my door."

"Were," he smiled. "I can give you anything you want, Anath."

"Stop calling me that!"

He ignored her. "I can give you the assurances that you desperately want to hear. The security of the planet…anything you can imagine could be yours if you agree," he said.

"Anything I can imagine? No, you can't," she mumbled to herself as she stared at the bubbles rising in her glass.

"As my queen…"

"I am a child of Kvenla. You already know that we are not compatible with your symbiotes," she interrupted. "But how the Goa'uld tried. Keb experimented on my people and so many of them died before he concluded that a blending was not possible. You…you ruled over this world and yet you did nothing to prevent it."

"You do not need to carry a symbiote. You are very special, Anath. Very important to me."

"I know that...and yet I do not know why...this is not the first time we have..."

"Your memories are returning more quickly than I expected," Ba'al mumbled and Adisa detected a hint of concern in his tone.

"They have always been with me…in my sleep…nightmares haunting me in the darkness. Images too terrible to contemplate. Things that I could not know…from a time before I was born and yet they are so real." She turned from him and stared out over the city. He rose from his seat and silently approached.

"And do I feature in these memories?" he whispered softly in her ear. "I know that you are…attracted to me...to this body and to my power. I sense it." The thought seemed to amuse him.

"How dare you suggest…you are not even…you! Do you even remember who that body belonged to?" she quickly objected, trying to focus on the snake-like thing in his head; recalling the night she had spent with Paul Davis but it was hard. He had seen directly into her darkest thoughts and they had included an attraction to him that she didn't recognise as her own, and it disturbed her greatly.

"He was a willing host. A lo'taur in fact but there is nothing of him left. The body is entirely mine," Ba'al replied, dismissively.

"Of course, you would say that, but it isn't true. That body belonged to a man called Aziru and you took it by force and killed his family."

"It seems you gained more from our brief connection than I had anticipated," he replied broodingly. "But it doesn't change anything." The sensation of his fingertips gently caressing the nape of her neck caused an involuntary sigh and for a moment her guard was down. A self-satisfied smile played on Ba'al's lips as he sensed her desire.

"Very soon now, you will come to me willingly. You will choose to become my queen and from our union will be born an entirely new race of Goa'uld. Stronger than ever before."

Sharply, she turned to face him. Without her shoes on, he seemed to tower over her like a great behemoth. She looked into his eyes and noticed the slight creases at the corners as he smiled at her. He wasn't wearing the ornate robes he had been when they first met. Instead, he wore black trousers of a soft leather and a long heavy leather coat. To her horror, she found herself wondering what lay beyond the buttons of the black collarless linen shirt.

"This is ridiculous!" she quickly chastised herself. "I know you. You are self-serving and nothing more. You sacrificed Satet to gain knowledge from me. You knew that the blending would awaken the memories, but whose are they? Not mine. You wanted me to remember, you want more… and I do not know why…yet. I do know, however, that I will never be more than the sum of my abilities to you. You are incapable of more and when I am no longer of use to you, you will kill me…or you will try anyway. I feel that we have played this game before…and yet I lived to tell the tale."

"You are wrong, and you are obstinate," Ba'al growled. "Why must you insist on resisting the inevitable?"

"No...it was something more…" She stared intently at him. "I already know you…but why?"

"You are part of my history, Anath of the Kvenla, as I am part of yours. You are also part of my future and that of the Goa'uld race."

.

* * *

Erlend wandered down to the river at the end of his garden. He was expecting the return of SG1 so when he heard footfall on the path he was not concerned.

"Erlend," came a voice he had not anticipated ever hearing again. He spun around, his mouth open. "Surprise!" Ba'al chuckled. "I wouldn't bother calling your guards. They're…a little tied up."

"How did you get through security? What are you doing here?" Erlend cried. "I thought that we had seen the last of you when you…" He stopped himself, clamping his lips together.

"So many questions, old man. Which would you like me to answer first?"

"Where is Adisa?"

"Ah, yes of course. You have deceived me, Erlend and I do not like deception." Ba'al said, folding his arms across his chest and glaring down at the elderly man.

"No, I have not deceived you."

"You should be dead. You should all be dead and yet here you are. You told me, personally, that Anath was dead and yet I find her alive and well, if a little…confused."

"I beg that you do not harm her. I will give you anything you wish. The naquadah has not been mined since you left. I am sure there is some arrangement…"

"You still have affection for her?" Ba'al seemed puzzled. "In spite of what you know?"

"She is my daughter," Erlend replied.

"Is that what you have told her?"

"She is my child. The genetic material required in her creation was mine," Erlend spat.

"Not all of it though, as it turns out," Ba'al replied derisively.

"I did not know to begin with…but it is not her fault. It does not alter my feelings for my child." Erlend's voice cracked as he spoke, unable to make eye contact with his visitor.

"She will not be your problem for very much longer. When she remembers…"

"You cannot take her!"

"She is already mine. I can do as I wish. For now, however, I am content to wait for her to come to me…which she will, but don't think about doing anything foolish. Even she is not entirely indispensable."


End file.
